First Looks: Veho Mimi VSS-002 Wireless USB Speakers

Going English

Established only four years ago, Veho is a relatively young company based in the UK that offers a wide range of interesting lifestyle products, from digital frames to mini DV camcorders and portable wireless speakers.

Speaking of which, tiny and highly portable speakers seem to be the “in” things these days. Maybe this is because they are an extremely easy and convenient way of sharing music. You could easily fit them in a bag, setup them up and have them playing tunes from your portable media player or even from a mobile phone. The Veho Mimi VSS-002 wireless speakers is capable of doing that and more, because it also offers wireless connectivity.

Compact & Wireless

The Veho Mimi comes decked in black and sports a minimalistic look. There are perforated grilles at the sides for the left and right speakers, and a big three-way button for power and volume control on top. Around the back are its two input options - a mini-USB port, which is also used to charge the unit's built-in lithium-ion batteries, and a 3.5mm auxiliary jack. It's a simple design that works and the Veho Mimi wireless speaker exudes a premium look and feel.

The Mimi's unique selling point is its ability to stream music wirelessly. It does so via a USB dongle that transmits using the 2.4GHz spectrum. The dongle also has the ability to switch between channels, which is handy, because when paired with a MacBook Pro, we found that it kept interfering with the MacBook's WiFi connection.

Interference aside, Veho says a single USB dongle can sync with up to 30 Mimi wireless speakers, but don't expect the kind of control you'd get from full fledged multi-room music speakers. You can't control what the speakers are playing or group them into zones. Instead, once hooked up, they'll all be playing whatever is being played on your PC or notebook at that particular instant - that includes warning pings and chimes from applications such as your Twitter client or MSN.

Audio Shortcomings

Impressively, despite its petite size, the Veho Mimi wireless speakers are true stereo speakers with left and right channels, but in truth, stereo imaging, as we found, was next to negligible.

Not only that, audio quality was also far from fantastic. Despite having an internal bass deflector which Veho claims to improve volume and clarity, the Mimi sounded flat, lacking substance and body. This made for a very detached listening experience. They weren't particularly loud either. In fact, it sounds only a tad better than your typical notebook speakers.

Final Thoughts

The Veho Mimi wireless speakers look stylish and wireless connectivity is certainly an intriguing proposition, but unfortunately, the speakers are let down by disappointing audio performance. Compared to the popular X-Mini speakers which are just as small, the Veho speakers pale in comparison, showing that it has a long way to go where audio quality is concerned. It's a good attempt by the fledging British company, but the sound quality of the Veho Mimi wireless speakers needs to be improved greatly if they are to be a compelling option for music lovers.